Snow
by Lilytoby
Summary: Cameron and Kirsten head to New York for Christmas, and go sledding in Central Park.


"Um, I was wondering, do you have any plans for Christmas?" Cameron asked hesitantly, looking over the table towards his girlfriend, who was just about to tuck in to her lemon chicken.

"Christmas?" Kirsten replied absent-mindedly, sticking her fork into the carton in front of her. "Well, Camille is spending it with Linus' family, so I just assumed I'd spend it here with you." Cameron's heart leapt. They'd only been dating for a few weeks and sometimes he forgot that to Kirsten it felt like they'd always been together. He was so used to holding himself back around her that it still surprised him whenever she was so open about their relationship.

"Great! I mean, yeah, of course. It's just that Sarah has invited us to spend the week at her place." He watched her carefully, worried that even with her condition she would think it was too soon to spend Christmas away together.

Kirsten contemplated the idea. "Sarah lives in New York, right?" He nodded. "Sure, that should be fine. When do we leave?" She turned her attention back to her dinner. Cameron relaxed, looking down at the message on his phone.

"She asked if we could head up on the 22nd, then we can fly back on the 28th?" She hummed in agreement around a mouthful of chicken, and Cameron sent a text back to his sister confirming the visit. He grinned, this would be the first Christmas he'd spent in New York in over a decade. He hoped it would snow, he loved the snow but hadn't seen much in the last few years thanks to the mild LA weather.

* * *

Just over 2 weeks later they were greeted by a blast of frigid air as they walked out of LaGuardia Airport. Cameron pulled their large shared suitcase onto the wet pavement as Kirsten shivered, tugging her thin coat tighter around her. They heard a loud whoop and Cameron barely registered his sister's rosy cheeks and blonde hair before she barreled into Kirsten, hugging her tightly. Sarah's boyfriend Simon walked up behind her and reached out to shake Cameron's hand.

"Good flight?" He asked, laughing a little as Sarah squeezed the startled Kirsten. Cameron winced, remembering the turbulence they'd encountered a couple of hours in. Sarah released her hold on Kirsten and jumped over to tackle her brother.

"Cam-Cam hates flying, he's a total wimp!" She ignored his answering glare and turned back to the shivering Kirsten. "What are you wearing? Where's your coat?" She spun back around to point accusingly at Cameron. "You didn't tell her to bring a real coat?"

"I _tried..."_ He muttered as he helped Simon lift the suitcase into the boot of the car, remembering the conversation they'd had the day before. Kirsten had been adamant that the thin woollen jacket would be enough and had stubbornly refused to go shopping for something more akin to Cameron's fur-lined parka.

Sarah pulled Kirsten into the back seat with her and started chattering about everything she had planned for their Christmas together. Cameron rolled his eyes at his sister's typical enthusiasm and climbed into the passenger seat next to Simon. The heavy snow was hitting the windshield as they drove, and Simon flicked on the wipers before glancing at Cameron.

"We were thinking of taking the sleds to Central Park if you're not too tired from the flight?" He asked, smiling as Sarah shrieked in excitement. Cameron turned to look at Kirsten, who finally seemed to be relaxing after the onslaught she'd been subjected to.

"What do you think, you up for it?" He didn't want to push her, knowing she sometimes needed time to adjust to new people and situations.

"Sure." She shrugged. "I've never been sledding before." At that moment Cameron realised that, having grown up in LA, it was possible this was Kirsten's first time even seeing snow. He smiled, pleased he would be the one to share this experience with her.

Sarah grinned, "Yay! We do it every year, it's so much fun! And don't worry, it's easy. You'll get the hang of it in no time." She smirked slyly at her brother. "Unlike skiing, which apparently is much more tricky..." Cameron groaned.

"You are never going to let that go, are you?" Sarah laughed and Kirsten looked curiously at her.

"Let what go?" She questioned, looking between the Goodkins. Sarah turned to her gleefully as Cameron groaned again.

"Our parents took us on this skiing holiday and Cameron was sooo sure he could handle it. Except he totally couldn't and he ended up face first in a massive snow bank." She cackled at the memory and Kirsten smiled at her, amused by the enthusiastic retelling of the story.

"It took us 20 minutes to dig him out! They almost called the rescue services!" Sarah snorted with laughter as Cameron glared at her in indignation.

"In my defence, I was 8 years old!" He said, struggling to stay annoyed as Kirsten's laugh joined his sister's.

"Yeah, and just as graceful as you are now!" She leaned forward to rub her hand roughly over his hair. He squawked in distress and pushed her hand away, raising his other hand to his head in an attempt to fix the damage. Simon pulled the car over, taking the keys out of the ignition.

"Right, we're here. So if the children would kindly stop bickering." He winked at Kirsten, who was struggling to suppress a smile.

Cameron huffed and hopped out of the car to help Simon with the sleds, and Sarah leaned down to pull something from under the seat. It was another parka, identical to the one she was wearing. She handed it to Kirsten, smiling.

"I thought you might need this, so I bought a spare." Kirsten blinked down at the coat for a moment before pulling it on, leaning into the warmth. She looked up to thank Sarah, but the older girl was already halfway up the hill, dragging her boyfriend and sled behind her. Cameron leaned down to look into the car at her, a sled tucked underneath his arm.

"Sorry about her, she can be sort of... full on." He looked down, embarrassed. Kirsten slid across the seat and took his offered hand, letting him pull her out of the car.

"I think she's great." She hooked her arm through his, smiling at him as he grinned at her. They made their way up the slope, Kirsten keeping a firm grip on Cameron's arm as she slipped on the unfamiliar surface. They reached the top and Sarah and Simon offered to go first, so Kirsten would know what to expect. They sat down in the sled, Sarah between Simon's legs, and he pushed off with his gloved hands. Kirsten watched with a little trepidation as they sped off down the hill, Sarah whooping with joy. It was faster than she had expected and she found herself feeling a little bit nervous. Not for the first time she cursed her relatively newfound emotions, just a few months ago she could stare down the barrel of a gun without so much as a tremor, but now she found herself scared of a hill, of all things. Cameron's gloved hand found hers and she turned towards him. He was smiling reassuringly at her.

"It's not as scary as it looks, I promise." He gripped her hand tighter. "Do you trust me?" She looked into his eyes, feeling the fear slip away as his hand in hers grounded her. She nodded.

"Of course."

He grinned at her, releasing her hand to position their sled at the edge of the slope, he sat down on the plastic tray and reached out towards her. She took his hand and shrieked as he pulled her down into his lap. She heard him laugh quietly in her ear as she settled herself, leaning back against him, his arms wrapping around her to grasp the string tied to the front of the sled.

"You ready, Princess?" She felt his warm breath against her ear and she nodded, bracing herself.

He pushed off and they were flying.

Kirsten gasped as her stomach dropped, and she felt Cameron's chest shake with his laughter as they slid down the hill. A thought occurred to her as the wind streamed by, exhilaration filling her chest, the feeling of her boyfriend's arms solid and safe around her.

Maybe _this_ was what happiness felt like.


End file.
